Post by riversideroo on May 30, 2013 13:36:14 GMT -5

If anyone here is doing the Roll Like A Rockstar thing, could you take some great pics of your experience? I'd like to see what the buses look like and the other perks that are involved. I may try and do this at some point in the future but would love to see more photos of what's involved.

Post by luvdatroo on May 30, 2013 13:42:06 GMT -5

This is a great idea. I too would consider it if I knew more about what I could expect. And had more money. But both may happen in the next year so you never know. I have always been curious about the sleeping arrangements in particular.

Post by wannaberoo'ing on May 30, 2013 14:12:37 GMT -5

We are doing RLARS this year. A substantial gift from a very awesome and loving family member (who shares our love for music) has made this experience possible for us. We didn't have much of a honeymoon, so we have been holding out for 5 years for our dream lineup to decide to do this and go crazy at Bonnaroo. I'm still in disbelief that this is happening.

I haven't wanted to say much about this here on inforoo: Whoreshack and LLL are actually the only peeps who know, until now. WS said to me immediately, "You gotta tell the board! You gotta write about it!" And now this thread popped up, so it seems as though me being a scaredy cat to share is just silly.

At any rate, we'll gladly share the experience here on the board with pics and vids. I have a feeling though, from all that we know already, that if you can afford to do it, the experience is entirely worth every penny. We'll be throwing beers out to any inforoosters we see (and water and whatever else they give us).

Post by riversideroo on May 30, 2013 14:53:35 GMT -5

We are doing RLARS this year. A substantial gift from a very awesome and loving family member (who shares our love for music) has made this experience possible for us. We didn't have much of a honeymoon, so we have been holding out for 5 years for our dream lineup to decide to do this and go crazy at Bonnaroo. I'm still in disbelief that this is happening.

I haven't wanted to say much about this here on inforoo: Whoreshack and LLL are actually the only peeps who know, until now. WS said to me immediately, "You gotta tell the board! You gotta write about it!" And now this thread popped up, so it seems as though me being a scaredy cat to share is just silly.

At any rate, we'll gladly share the experience here on the board with pics and vids. I have a feeling though, from all that we know already, that if you can afford to do it, the experience is entirely worth every penny. We'll be throwing beers out to any inforoosters we see (and water and whatever else they give us).

Post by imarob on May 30, 2013 15:14:57 GMT -5

We are doing RLARS this year. A substantial gift from a very awesome and loving family member (who shares our love for music) has made this experience possible for us. We didn't have much of a honeymoon, so we have been holding out for 5 years for our dream lineup to decide to do this and go crazy at Bonnaroo. I'm still in disbelief that this is happening.

I haven't wanted to say much about this here on inforoo: Whoreshack and LLL are actually the only peeps who know, until now. WS said to me immediately, "You gotta tell the board! You gotta write about it!" And now this thread popped up, so it seems as though me being a scaredy cat to share is just silly.

At any rate, we'll gladly share the experience here on the board with pics and vids. I have a feeling though, from all that we know already, that if you can afford to do it, the experience is entirely worth every penny. We'll be throwing beers out to any inforoosters we see (and water and whatever else they give us).

That's so awesome of you two. Thank you! I am overly fascinated by that level of luxury.

Post by custeph on May 31, 2013 10:24:40 GMT -5

We are doing RLARS this year. A substantial gift from a very awesome and loving family member (who shares our love for music) has made this experience possible for us. We didn't have much of a honeymoon, so we have been holding out for 5 years for our dream lineup to decide to do this and go crazy at Bonnaroo. I'm still in disbelief that this is happening.

I haven't wanted to say much about this here on inforoo: Whoreshack and LLL are actually the only peeps who know, until now. WS said to me immediately, "You gotta tell the board! You gotta write about it!" And now this thread popped up, so it seems as though me being a scaredy cat to share is just silly.

At any rate, we'll gladly share the experience here on the board with pics and vids. I have a feeling though, from all that we know already, that if you can afford to do it, the experience is entirely worth every penny. We'll be throwing beers out to any inforoosters we see (and water and whatever else they give us).

YAY!!

I am sooooo excited for you guys!!! I can't wait to hear all about it.

Post by pondo ROCKS on Jun 1, 2013 10:38:10 GMT -5

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Post by strangetimes on Jun 4, 2013 21:36:56 GMT -5

This will be my groups third time partaking in the RLARS program. I'd be happy to chat about it at length - maybe not tonight because I am dog tired, but I wanted to respond to this thread and say hi.

Like the previous post from wannaberoo'ing, I've been hesitant to talk about this a whole lot - for multiple reasons. It's a bunch of money, the inforoo community is divided on it, etc. etc. etc.

Billion (from our group) has pretty much summed up how he and I both feel about this experience and worth a look for those interested in doing this sometime. I'm fairly sure it's in the linked thread posted earlier that referenced gardenfresh (who by the way was a really cool cat to meet the year both of us were in RLARS - I will never forgot how excited he was about the chance to meet Robert Plant).

However, I will say RLARS is what you make of it. Yes, there are some a-holes in it, but overall I'd like think that a sizable chunk of us do this for our love of music. Many from out group spend a sizable chunk of their annual income to do this and wouldn't have it any other way.

You get amazing access to each stage/tent and the bus is just about as crazy as it sounds. The sleeping area is the crown jewel - we call it the cave because its pitch black and cold as heck 24 hours a day. Very nice when you roll in at 6am. You get to walk around just about everywhere on the grounds - I've only been turned back at one checkpoint, and I've bumped into several artists over the three times weve been there. The Avett bros was my favorite chance encounter.

But it does come with a few costs - the community aspect of RLARS bonnaroo is different. Its not the same free spiritedness that I've experiences during my time in GA. A lot of people keep to themselves, but others get tighter as the weekend progresses. I basically give no f and hug and embrace everyone that I run into.

In sum, it's pretty awesome IMO - but it's not for everyone.

And I second the offer to toss beer/water/whatever out to those I see from inforoo. Is there a code word we could use by chance: corn cat, fat axel rose, something?? ;-)

Post by JHOinTN on Jun 21, 2013 9:00:54 GMT -5

We are doing RLARS this year. A substantial gift from a very awesome and loving family member (who shares our love for music) has made this experience possible for us. We didn't have much of a honeymoon, so we have been holding out for 5 years for our dream lineup to decide to do this and go crazy at Bonnaroo. I'm still in disbelief that this is happening.

I haven't wanted to say much about this here on inforoo: Whoreshack and LLL are actually the only peeps who know, until now. WS said to me immediately, "You gotta tell the board! You gotta write about it!" And now this thread popped up, so it seems as though me being a scaredy cat to share is just silly.

At any rate, we'll gladly share the experience here on the board with pics and vids. I have a feeling though, from all that we know already, that if you can afford to do it, the experience is entirely worth every penny. We'll be throwing beers out to any inforoosters we see (and water and whatever else they give us).

Post by wannaberoo'ing on Jun 21, 2013 10:57:08 GMT -5

I'm still in Roo recovery! LOL.

There is so much that can be said about the RLARS program, I don't even know where to begin. If anyone has considered it, they shouldn't hesitate to do it. There really isn't a bad thing about it. If you are afraid that you'll miss out on something, the community feel, a larger Roo vibe, well, you can go anywhere that you want to. We spent quite alot of time in Centeroo. We tried our best to visit with some inforoosters (thank you Steph and Mike!) and we also just watched shows from all over, not just the RLARS pits. There is a definite community feel in the RLARS campground area, the compound as they call it. We had a tight group of our own, and we also hung out quite a bit with another bus (as strangetimes said above, people get closer as the weekend goes on). Some folks really decked out their buses and the area around their bus: you have enough room to construct any type of campsite you like. We had an easy-up and made a nice outdoor area for hanging. Some had lights, decorations, just the same as you see all over the GA camping. The bus, of course, is awesome- large, roomy, pretty swanky- sleeping arrangements are somewhat strange (bunks on top of each other) BUT I got used to that, just felt like I was in Star Trek or something. I will post pics of what the bus looks like here real soon to give those who are interested a better idea. You really hardly spend any time at the bus though but it is wonderful for resting.

The compound area has a restaurant for three meals a day (Thursday is just dinner). The food is topnotch, plenty of options, vegetarian as well, and lots of healthy choices. The catering crew did an amazing job, wonderful people who love their job and love coming to Bonnaroo! The restaurant is very nice and comfortable- AC, a bar in there, and food is pretty much available all day until 9 at night. I can't say enough how fantastic the catering folks were- they were willing to break the rules for us and deliver food to some of our inforoo peeps (ha!). Because of me, we weren't able to pull this off, my fault. Anyway, sweet people who love Bonnaroo more than any other festival they work.

The viewing areas for the What and Which stage are to the right (looking at the stages) behind the GA pits. The What stage pit has huge coolers in it- full of beer (Miller and Coors) and water, plenty of water and beer. Artists, celebrities, industry folk spend their time here.

Pics of What stage viewing:

Pic of Which stage viewing:

A big plus this year, new for the Total Access folks (I hate RLARS so I'm just gonna say Total Access now) was we were allowed up onto the What stage, the right side rafters. The project manager for CID Entertainment really worked hard to get this done for the TA people. Not allowed up there for the headliners though. Hopefully, for those who get to do TA next year, they will still have this perk:

Gov't Mule

View looking out

Between the What and the Which, but much closer to the What, is a big tented bar area and private air conditioned bathrooms. You can easily go there, have a few drinks, and never miss any of the action on the main stage. This, combined with the viewing for What/Which, is definitely the biggest benefit in doing TA. Just about any liquor you want, any mixed drink, lots of comfy seating. Go pee and not have to worry about losing your spot. Priceless indeed.

The Hospitality Tent, or What stage bar:

Viewing area at all the tents is pretty much the same (This Tent by far though had the best pit for us). They are all to the side, in the shape of a wedge, close to the front. They are not very big so they don't take away that much from the GA folks except for This Tent: it was rather large. But, I saw the Capp Dog at the Soul Superjam and I think they knew that between that and Alt-J, they made this area larger (for the industry folk who wanted to see these two shows). The pits were packed for those two.

At any rate, here is a pic of Foals to give you an idea:

Neatest thing for me was being able to venture around back behind the tents (because that is where the TA security check-points and golf cart service is located anyway) and see the bands getting ready for a show or winding down after.

Foals afterward and this is where we come in for a show:

When you arrive for a show at a tent, they drop you off at the gate behind the tent. They have a cooler with beer/water there. You get what you want and then follow a path to the pit. Security is everywhere checking your credentials.

We often just walked from stage to stage though because you can also get to your viewing area from Centeroo. You don't always have to use a golfcart. The golfcart service is awesome and definitely saves alot of time/walking but sometimes it just made more sense to hoof it ourselves. The drivers will take you anywhere you want to go, except into Centeroo of course. Maybe early morning this can be done, if you wanted to ride around Centeroo, but most of our drivers adhered to the rules (except for when we went looking for Camp Inforoo in access RV). They aren't supposed to drive in the campgrounds either, on the roads yes, not thru the campgrounds of course. We had some water to deliver though. Sorry guys! Wish we had time to bring more.

My favorite part of the experience was meeting the people who put this all together (CID Entertainment), seeing the behind-the-scenes hustle and bustle of Bonnaroo is absolutely mind boggling, hanging out in the "backstage" areas of the tents, and of course, the easy relaxed viewing at the stages. The people who work Bonnaroo, the production crews, CID, everyone who we got to speak to, love that festival more than any other: it was apparent. One higher up person for CID called Bonnaroo "home" although she wasn't from TN. They are passionate about the music and community, just as much as the attendees. That really struck me for some reason and speaks volumes about how the Roo vibe lives everywhere, in everyone, even in the director of AC Entertainment, who asked me for one of Steph's Roo bracelets and smiled like a kid when he held it in his hand.

That's all folks! If you can do it, do it. It's a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and Bonnaroo is the only festival to offer anyone this experience.

(If anyone wants to know anything else about doing TA, please PM me or Orlando- we'll gladly talk more about it. yes, orlando, I volunteered you. you helped us noobs get ready with lots of great advice)

Post by monkybunney on Jun 23, 2013 20:44:19 GMT -5

wannaberoo'ing Kick ass woman! Thanks for the insight. Should I ever have the $$$'s to make it happen this totally looks worth it. Any record execs out there wanna sign my band? Were actually really good!

Post by wannaberoo'ing on Jun 24, 2013 7:44:37 GMT -5

wannaberoo'ing Kick ass woman! Thanks for the insight. Should I ever have the $$$'s to make it happen this totally looks worth it. Any record execs out there wanna sign my band? Were actually really good!

Monkybunney, I hope you get to do it someday! You totally deserve it

We are skrimping quite a bit this year to have afforded the chance to do this once. Maybe in the future, if the cost hasn't soared, we'll get to do it again. But certainly not next next year.

Post by gratefuled on Jun 24, 2013 7:47:36 GMT -5

wannaberoo'ing Kick ass woman! Thanks for the insight. Should I ever have the $$$'s to make it happen this totally looks worth it. Any record execs out there wanna sign my band? Were actually really good!

Post up a link to your band's material, dude...I'd love to give it a listen.

Post by monkybunney on Jun 24, 2013 11:16:02 GMT -5

wannaberoo'ing Kick ass woman! Thanks for the insight. Should I ever have the $$$'s to make it happen this totally looks worth it. Any record execs out there wanna sign my band? Were actually really good!

Post up a link to your band's material, dude...I'd love to give it a listen.

Post by luvdatroo on Jun 24, 2013 15:52:49 GMT -5

Are there any other costs to the rlars? Is the 30000 including all fees? Does it have a sales tax for example. 30,000/8=3750. 3750/51(weeks of the year not including roo week)=73.53 more or less.

For $73.53 per week every week that isn't roo we could all do this. Not including taxes and other fees and what not.

before I cleaned up my life, my bad habits were at least double that. A pack a day is $35 right there. Heck that's almost half of the $10 and change you need to put back every day right there. Throw in house beers, corn, bar scene, eating out instead of cooking for far less and other miscellaneousness, I was easily pushing $150 a week in vices alone. Probably $200! Now I have responsibilities.